Danish “Whisky Belt” investors place most money, says trade body

By: Jonathan Boyd | 25 Jul 2012

The Federation of Danish Investment Associations (InvesteringsForeningsRådet) says that the first analysis ever done on where investors actually live has found that those in the country’s so-called “Whisky Belt” tend to invest most.

The area north of the country’s capital Copenhagen is known for being the home of the country’s rich and famous. According to the Federation’s analysis, investors here have an average of DKK600,000 (€80,655) invested in investment associations – the legal structure that accounts for most fund investments made by individuals, separately from savings via pension funds or directly in fixed income instruments such as covered bonds.

The Whisky Belt’s average level of investment is almost double the average of DKK317,000 (€42,613) found among investors on the island known in Danish as Fyn (Funen) – the country’s third largest island, located between the mainland (Jutland) and Sjælland (Zealand), where Copenhagen is located.

However, location still plays less of a role than gender in determining average investment amounts, the research also found.

On average, men in all areas have larger sums invested than women. The gap is largest in Jutland, where it is 40%, at DKK434,000 (€58,342) for men versus DKK310,000 (€41,673) for women.

The gender gap is smallest in the Copenhagen/Frederiksberg area, where it is considered statistically insignificant.

The 809,000 investors analysed on average had DKK378,000 (€50,814) invested as of the end of June 2012, the Federation said.